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Reviews by Helen S. (Sun City West, AZ)

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The Disenchanted Widow
by Christina McKenna
In the Driver's Seat at Last (8/19/2013)
From the moment I first met Bessie in The Disenchanted Widow, I was cheering for her! In fact, I couldn't put the book down until I found out if she could and would make a new life for herself and her son, little Herkie after she left Belfast. The author created severalmore
Her Last Breath: A Kate Burkholder Novel
by Linda Castillo
ARiveting Read (4/28/2013)
Linda Castillo's Her Last Breath captured and held my attention so completely that I read straight through, neglecting everything I was supposed to do that day. I was held in suspense as Police Chief Katie Burkholder and other law enforcement officers searched for a hit-and-more
Fever
by Mary Beth Keane
A Fascinating woman (3/18/2013)
The author of Fever successfully tells the troubling story of Mary Mallon, the infamous Typhoid Mary, as she fills the background with the sights, sounds, smells, and lives of the people living in New York City in the early 1900s. As I read, I had conflicting feelings aboutmore
Calling Me Home
by Julie Kibler
A Journey to Understanding (11/29/2012)
Julie Kibler has successfully tackled the difficult issue of racial equality in her fascinating debut novel told in the first person by Miss Isabelle and Dorrie on their journey from Texas to Ohio. The long car trip gave the women the time and opportunity to divulge theirmore
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
by Mary Sharratt
A woman ahead of her time (9/8/2012)
The story of Hildegard von Bingen’s life was fascinating and enlightening. Before reading Illuminations I had only known about her from facts gleaned from the liner notes on CDs of her music; she was a medieval Christian visionary and prophet, as well as a talented musician,more
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: A Memoir
by Anna Quindlen
Becoming Ourselves (4/25/2012)
Anna Quindlen’s Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, reflections on the first six decades of her life, is especially appealing to me as an older woman. Like the author, I raised a family while working outside our home. Other older women can relate to her joys and struggles tomore
A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life
by John Kralik
Powerful Reminder (4/16/2011)
John Kralik's personal story clearly shows the transforming power of saying "thank you." As I read 365 Thank Yous, I was moved by the gradual improvement of his family and professional relationships and his financial situation. Incredibly, these significant changes were themore
An Amish Christmas: A Novel
by Cynthia Keller
To BE (8/31/2010)
Author Cynthia Keller succeeds in presenting the details of the affluent lifestyle that Meg and James Hobart and their three children enjoy in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, before circumstances abruptly force them to leave it all behind.

An accidental meeting withmore
The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education
by Maya Frost
Moving toward Bold School thinking (11/9/2009)
If you are the parent of a middle- or high school student or a school counselor who wants to help prepare high school students for challenging and interesting careers in a global economy, you would get practical, first-hand advice from The New Global Student. In an upbeat (more
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Saving Power of the Literary Society (7/27/2008)
After I read the series of letters exchanged by Juliet Ashton (a London author), her publisher, her friends, and the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I wanted to know each person better. I particularly liked the way the authors of The Guernseymore
Broken Colors
by Michele Zackheim
Luminous and Vibrant (2/19/2008)
Broken Colors holds the reader’s interest in the loves and losses of Sophie Marks, a talented artist, as she lives and paints in England, Paris, Italy, and the American Southwest desert.


This book would appeal to a book club for absorbing discussions of the consequences ofmore
The Quiet Girl
by Peter Hoeg
A challenging but riveting read (10/16/2007)
Like a spider spinning its web to entice its prey, author Peter Hoeg slowly but adroitly entices readers to suspend their belief in ordinary reality as they enter a world of illusion, mystery, and suspense to join Kasper Krone in his search for the quiet girl.

Bach's music,more
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